The Morning After
by Danii352
Summary: This is the morning after the Season 2 finale. Elena wakes up to have everything come flooding back to her... And more.


I woke with a start.

Something was wrong, I could feel it.

Then the dreams came rushing to the surface. Tears instantly welled in my eyes.

They weren't dreams; they were reminders of the sick reality that was now encasing me.

Jenna was dead.

Jeremy is all I have. I can no longer throw my life before others, not even Jeremy's, although I would die instantly with out him, he would feel the same, and I wasn't prepared to cause anymore pain for him. As hard as it was to believe, he had suffered more than I had, not only did he lose all of his family, he has also lost friends and loves.

There was something else, a weird feeling, or a dream… I think. As my mind reached deeper and deeper for the dream, it receded farther into the darkness, not leaving me with the slightest of hints as to what it was.

I rolled onto my side, in Stefan's bed, pulling the covers up to my neck. The pillows and blankets smelled like him, causing a deep flutter of emotion I couldn't quite place to well up inside of me. A tear rolled from my eye and soaked into the pillow.

With a sigh, I sniffed, and threw the covers back. As I sat up, I felt coldness against my stomach, I reached under my shirt, finding my necklace, it must have fallen off while I slept. As I fastened it back onto my neck I found it harder then usual to clasp.

I moved the curtains from the window, surprised to find the sun higher then I had expected, I had slept in.

After slipping on my jeans, and throwing my hair into an elastic, I made my way downstairs. In the kitchen the coffee was still hot, thank god, someone must have just made it. I gratefully poured a cup and made my way to the living room. I sprawled on the couch, leaning my head back on the arm rest to stare at the ceiling.

A mirror image of myself came into view, my own hair brushing my cheeks.

My image smiled down at me, "Look, my gorgeous little twin is up!"

I sat up. "Go to hell Katherine." I said, crossing my arms.

She sat down on the coffee table, facing me, placing one knee over the other she said, "Oh, Elena, I've been, they are no fun down there, they kicked me out at the door saying I was far too evil and sexy for even their deepest depths." She flashed me a sarcastic smile, flippantly waved a hand, and narrowed her eyes.

"Well screw off then." I said with my own sarcastic smile.

Katherine's eyes blazed with hatred.

"Ladies, Ladies, play nice!" Damon said, coming up behind us. "And by 'play nice' I mean Katherine, fuck off."

Katherine's gaze turned to Damon, shooting daggers, but she stood and started out of the living room.

"This is my house now, remind me again why I invited her in?" I asked.

"If I'm correct, our beloved Stefan said it was safest?" Katherine said with a sly smile, turning back to me.

"Oh right." I said with no emotion. "Speaking of Stefan, where is he?" my gaze shifted to Damon, but not before I notice the look on Katherine's face, almost the look of confusion, an emotion I've never seem on her face.

I saw a glimpse of Damon shooting Katherine a look of death before he composed himself.

"Pfft, like I care!" Damon said with enthusiasm, he let out a giggle. If I didn't know him better I would have said it was an awkward or nervous giggle.

Damon walked over to where I sat, lifting my legs from to couch to sit beneath them before placing them over his lap.

This morning Damon sported his usual black tee with dark jeans, crystal glass of blood in hand.

He looked straight into my eyes, an emotion foreign to me behind the glacier blue. "How are you?" he asked with so much sadness I felt the tears prick in my eyes again.

"I just can't believe Jenna is gone… and Jeremy…" I instantly sat up straighter, pulling my legs back to myself, like I was hit with cold water. "Jeremy! Where is he?" I was starting to get off the couch.

Damon wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling back to the couch. "Him and Bonnie are upstairs, sleeping."

I instantly relaxed, placing my legs back over Damon's lap. I was now cradled in the nook of his arm, his thumb unconsciously rubbing circles against my hip. His other had rested gently on my shin.

We sat like that for quite some time before Damon reached up, pulling the elastic from my hair to let it fall down my back, he ran his fingers through the lengths, gently loosening the morning tangles. I let my eyes close, feeling so content I could purr.

It seemed I had drifted off, whether falling a sleep, or lulling to a mindless state, Damon's voice brought me to.

"Your coffee is getting cold." He said surprisingly softly, he sat up to reach across my legs for the mug on the table. He held the mug up to me, I took it and sipped gingerly at it.

The door bell rang, giving me a start.

"I'll get it!" Damon said, getting up and heading to the door so swiftly I barely saw him.

Just as he exited the living room, Jeremy and Bonnie entered.

"Hey…" Bonnie said with sympathy, running over to sit beside me, her arms were around me before she had even taken her seat. "How are you?" she asked as she pulled away.

"Yeah, you okay?" Jeremy asked as he took a seat on the coffee table, almost the exact spot where Katherine had sat.

"Are you guys going to ask me this every day?" I managed a small smile.

"Sorry…" Bonnie said, looking to the floor.

"It's okay…" I rubbed Bonnie's shoulder, "I'm fine." I said with a deep breath, looking to them both. "I'm as fine as I'll ever be." I finished.

Damon walked back in then.

"Who was it?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"Vampire Barbie, and Wolf Boy." He said in exasperation.

Right on cue, Caroline and Tyler walked in.

I stood instantly, and Caroline rushed over, wrapping her arms around me.

As she pulled away, she bushed the hair from my face. "Are you okay?" she asked with utter sincerity, I was still amazed at how much she had matured. I remember having almost this exact same conversation after the summer when mom and dad died, but at that time, she didn't actually care, she just felt the need to say something.

"I'm okay Caroline, thank you so much for coming by." I said, "You too Tyler." I glanced back at him. At that he came over and hugged me also, I think it was the first time he had ever touched me.

"I'm so sorry." He said in my ear, placing a peck on my cheek.

"Thank you." I said as he pulled away. "Are you guys going to stay for a while?" I asked Tyler and Caroline.

"Sure!" Caroline said with a smile.

"Good, the suns out, lets all go sit out back."

We all made our way to the back of the house. Damon opened the big doors, for us, and we all sat around the big eight-seat table in the back yard. A couple of weeks ago I had spent an hour in the back shed trying to find the nice, big, red cushions for the seats, I had succeeded.

I draped a leg over Damon's lap under the table after grabbing a big jug of water for us all to share.

"What are we going to do about-" Caroline wasn't able to finish as Damon interrupted her.

"LETS- not talk about any of the bad stuff today, lets try and forget about it for a little while…" he looked to me for confirmation, after a moment I nodded, I liked the sound of that.

"Has anyone seen Katherine?" Tyler asked.

"She happens to be somewhere in this house as we speak." Damon said with a humourless smile.

"What?" Caroline yelled.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I said, more to myself than anyone.

Damon rubbed my leg reassuringly.

"Oh, that's sweet, you all spend your free time talking about me." Katherine stood in the doorway, a sarcastic smile on her face, she grazed her fingers lightly across the wood of the open door, playing circles with her finger tips. "And here I thought you all hated me…" she narrowed her eyes, a wicked little smile pulling at her lips. She started to cross the threshold, but stopped as if walking into a wall.

"What the hell is this?" she said, attempting to push the invisible wall.

I looked over my shoulder to see Bonnie with a satisfied, crooked smile on her face, Jeremy was smiling too, he leaned over and kissed Bonnie on the cheek.

"How dare you!" Katherine screamed. "First Alaric's house and now this? You little bitch, you step one foot in this house and I'll break your neck!"

I watched as Bonnie's eyes darkened, her eyes locked on Katherine, she stood and walked to just in front of the threshold, Katherine was so angry that her body was heaving with every breath.

Bonnie took a step in the door, standing beside Katherine, I was just about to dive out of my chair as Katherine's hand, reaching out, intent on breaking Bonnie's neck with a flick of the wrist. Just as Katherine's hand touched Bonnie's skin, Katherine's whole body went rigid and she screamed, dropping to the ground.

As Katherine lay incapacitated on the floor, Bonnie placed her boot on Katherine's chest

Bonnie leaned over Katherine. "If you so much as touch someone with the intent to harm, it will feel as though wooden bullets are tearing you from the inside out." Bonnie spat the words through her teeth. She then removed her boot from Katherine's chest and came back outside to take her seat, she smiled triumphantly.

My eyes were wide, staring at Bonnie.

Jeremy leaned over and kissed her again, "Good job, Babe." He said with a smile. I was unbelievably thankful for Bonnie, for how much she has done, for things I couldn't even think of, but at the moment it wasn't what she did to Katherine, it was what she was doing for Jeremy. I had never seen him so happy, even before mom and dad, and at such a hard and emotional time for us, she was exactly what he wanted, and exactly what he needed.

"I thought it was going to feel like burning?" Damon asked, shaking me from my thoughts.

"I decided burning wasn't enough for that bitch." Bonnie said with a smile.

"Hmm…" Damon tilted his head to the side, "Good choice."

"I can still hear you!" Katherine said, picking herself up off the floor.

"Good, then you would have heard how much _we don't care!_" Damon snapped, Katherine flipped her hair over her shoulder and stormed out of sight.

A few laughs broke out among us.

Happiness was filling me so quickly I felt as though I would keel over, everyone I loved and needed were sitting at this table with me right now. I reached over and took Damon's hand, drawing his attention to me, _Thank you_, I mouthed.

After everyone had left, Damon and I sat in the living room for a little while, just talking.

"Let's go to bed." I said with a smile, grabbing his hand, and pulling him up off of the couch. He hesitated for a moment, a look of shock on his face. "What?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Um, nothing." He said after a moment, smiling up at me.

As he stood I stayed where I was, our bodies almost touching, "Thank you." I said again, placing my hands on both sides of his face, I raised my lips to his, laying a soft kiss there. Damon stood rigid as I did so, not moving a muscle. As I pulled away, I kept my eyes locked with his before turning and walking out of the living room.

In a blur of movement my eyes couldn't catch, Damon was in front of me, I hadn't even stopped walking before his arms fastened around my waist, pressing me against him. His eyes searched mine for a moment before they wandered to my lips, he seemed to be fighting with him self, and I couldn't tell why, it was like he was scared of me. So, instead of asking him why he was acting so weird, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself closer to him, I pressed my lips hard against his, and instantly he reacted.

His lips moved with mine, as if both of us sating some deep hunger. Good, he was still with me, we were back to normal.

I stood on my toes, trying to get closer, I wanted all of our skin touching, I ran my fingers through his hair, fisting the dark strands. I pushed him against the hallway wall as if he was no stronger then I, pressing myself harder against him, using the wall as leverage. He let out a moan before roughly turning us around, pressing my small frame against the wall in turn. I could feel him, all of him, warm against the front of me, with the wall cool against my back.

"Up- stairs." I managed between kisses and moans.

In one movement he had lifted me, I had wrapped my legs around his waist, and in a moments time he was dropping me onto the down of his bed. I kept my legs around his waist as he leaned into me, roughly rubbing his hands up and down the skin of my back. In one movement, I pulled him down to me, flipped him onto his back so I was on top of him, and sat, straddling his waist, never once removing his lips from mine.

He brushed his hands along my skin, pulling my shirt over my head, and I slid his shirt over his muscular chest and over his head, kissing the skin of his stomach the whole way.

One moment we are on the edge of the bed and the next we are in the centre, Damon's chest hard on top of mine, he had moved so quickly I was unsure as to what the movements were. Our hips started unconsciously moving against each other.

"Well this is a turn of events…" Katherine said from the doorway. "I wonder what St-" I wasn't sure if it was Katherine's intruding, or Damon's reaction that startled me more, but before Katherine could finish, Damon was up and holding Katherine by the neck.

I propped myself up on my elbows, brushing the hair from my face, I was more frustrated then embarrassed. "God Katherine, can you not find your own action anymore? You've scared them all away so bad that you need to live vicariously through me now?" I didn't even look at her as I said this, I just rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

Damon slammed the door behind him as he carried Katherine out into the hallway.

With a disappointed sigh I laid back on the bed, hoping Damon would finish where he left off when he was finished with Katherine.

Damon slammed the door behind him, dropping Katherine to the floor, where she clutched eagerly at her throat.

"Ah, Katherine, you're getting weak." Damon said with an irritated smile, he could still feel Elena against him, all of her, the most he has ever felt of her.

"Well maybe if you weren't starving me, that wouldn't be a problem." Katherine said as she picked herself up off of the floor. She smiled at Damon, "Well this is different, what the hell do you think you are doing on top of your brother's girlfriend? Have you finally given in to your sickening love for her? Or better yet, why the _hell_ is she okay with it?" Katherine placed a long finger against her chin in mock thought. "You compelled her didn't you?"

Bonnie walked by then, and Damon froze, had she heard?

"Oh so that explains why Elena has been acting so weird today." Bonnie cut in. Damon relaxed there was no show on Bonnie's face that told him she had heard.

"Yes, I did." Damon said, speaking to them both.

"But how?" Bonnie asked, "What about her necklace?"

"Ah yes Damon, enlighten us." Katherine said with a wicked shine in her eyes.

"I switched her necklace while she was sleeping." Damon watched Bonnie's eyes darken in response. "I didn't do it to hurt her, I just didn't want her to suffer anymore then she needed to. No matter what we are going to find Stefan, I know that, I just didn't think she needed to hurt until we did."

"Did you erase Stefan from her memory?" Katherine said with sincere interest, why hadn't she thought of that?

"No!" Damon snapped. "She asked about him today you stupid bitch. I just made it seem as though she wasn't sure where he was, but she knew he was coming back."

"Oh really?" Katherine asked with sarcasm. "'Cause from the looks of it…" she gestured to the bedroom. This gesture didn't register with Bonnie.

"At least that's what I thought I did, that is what I meant to do…" Damon was talking to himself now.

"Thank you Damon." Bonnie said with a smile, squeezing his shoulder. Bonnie seemed oblivious to everything that was going on. _Good,_ Damon thought. Bonnie turned and headed down the stairs.

"I would say you better work on your compulsion, Damon." Katherine said sarcastically. "Or maybe you better work on controlling your emotions." Katherine flashed a sly smile before turning and walking down the hall.

"And remember, Damon," Katherine said over her shoulder. "I _never _forget."


End file.
